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[10/09/16 - 09:07 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: College Football Sparks ABC to Victory
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (10/8/16):

ABC (5.146 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) was sparked to another Saturday victory thanks to its coverage of "Saturday Night College Football" (5.146 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

CBS (5.095 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "NCIS" (6.394 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2), "NCIS: New Orleans" (4.463 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "48 Hours" (4.429 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

Next up was NBC (2.201 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) with its NASCAR rain delay lineup of "Dateline NBC" (2.308 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Saturday Night Live" (1.987 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5).

And finally, FOX (1.231 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) closed out the evening with its own "CFB on FOX" (1.231 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· The Oct. 8 edition of "Saturday Night Live" is currently equaling the show's highest Week 2 rating in eight years in Nielsen's metered markets.

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live," with host Lin-Manuel Miranda and musical guest Twenty One Pilots, is currently scoring a 5.2 rating, 13 share in "live plus same day" household results from the local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.4/12 in adults 18-49 in the markets with local people meters. Note that averages currently exclude Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and West Palm Beach.

· With a telecast featuring appearances by Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, last night's "Saturday Night Live" equaled the show's highest Week 2 household rating in the metered markets since the Sept. 20, 2008 edition, hosted by James Franco with musical guest Kings of Leon, which scored a 5.7 rating. Last night's 5.2 was equaled over that span by the Oct. 1, 2011 Week 2 telecast hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Lady Antebellum.

· In adult 18-49 results in the 25 markets with local people meters, last night's 2.4 for "Saturday Night Live" was the show's highest Week 2 rating since Oct. 5, 2013 (2.7 with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus).

· Last night's telecast is currently up +24% from the show's October 2015 average for original telecasts in metered-market households (5.2 vs. 4.2) and +20% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.4 vs. 2.0 for October 2015).


Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/10/15):

ABC (3.254 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the network to beat on a low key Saturday with its weekly "Saturday Night College Football" (3.254 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) coverage.

FOX (2.689 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then claimed the silver with its own presentation of "CFB on FOX" (2.689 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2).

Next up was CBS (3.775 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with repeats of "Code Black" (3.043 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Criminal Minds" (3.586 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and a new "48 Hours" (4.695 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3).

And finally, NBC (1.639 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) closed out the evening with its NASCAR rain delay lineup of "The Voice" (1.661 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Saturday Night Live" (1.596 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Amy Schumer and musical guest The Weekend (3.9/10 in metered-market households, 1.9/9 in adults 18-49 in the local people meters) is the night's #1 telecast on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, beating all primetime telecasts on those nets.

· The Oct. 10 "Saturday Night" grew +3% versus the year-ago telecast in metered-market households (3.9 vs. 3.8 on Oct. 11, 2014) and increased by +6% in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.9 vs. 1.8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals last season growing by an average of +44% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" in adults 18-49 (from a 1.84 rating to a 2.65).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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